2002-11-02 (study) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Session 1858 November 2, 2002 moved. You can only go right onto Delmar from Trinity. The painted crosswalk going across Delmar at Trinity will be removed and moved farther down Delmar closer to City Hall. Half of the bollards will be removed to help improve driver's view. Speed and traffic laws will be strictly enforced. Mr. Ollendorff is looking at a grant to study this intersection, because he feels we need a professional study of it. Council discussed the benefits of renting or purchasing a radar sign trailer to help curb driver's speeds down Delmar. AGENDA #11 - STREET SWEEPING - PARKING ENFORCEMENT: Mr. Ollendorff requested guidance and direction on our street sweeping parking enforcement policy. We have citizens who complain that we do not tow enough cars to allow streets to be swept. We also hear from citizens who feel we are too harsh. After some discussion, the sense of the Council was to continue to enforce towing where signs are posted. Citizens would need to present a petition to Council to remove or post signs. AGENDA #12 - POLICE RESPONSIVENESS: Through no fault of the citizens, Mr. Ollendorff doesn't believe the Council is getting the entire story. He believes our police department to be very responsive. This department has won many awards. He is open to any suggestions as to how they can be more responsive, however, since this is his responsibility as City Manager - not the Mayor's or the City Council. Mr. Wagner said that the widespread perception of inappropriate police responses is itself a problem that must be remedied. Negative perceptions themselves are a serious problem. Mr. Wagner believes that timeliness of the response should be analyzed. He requested that a study that measured the police response from call to the time the officer gets at the location. Mr. Wagner also felt customer service should be looked into. He wants a report on what we do and have done to boost customer service training in the police department. He also would like to see what happens after a call - the judicial and criminal justice process. He wants to know why our citizens feel that nothing is being done after their calls. Council needs to understand these processes and in turn, these need to be communicated to the citizens. Ms. Welsch dismisses any suggestions that the citizens are working on some type of conspiracy. She believes the police should respond to the citizens in a way that they perceive they should. The public relations effort is very important. She feels that the citizens believe that the City Manager's and Police Chief's comments are important. She simply can't believe that the Police Department has denied everything that the citizens have brought forward. She wants to look at what can be done to correct this situation. Mr. Lieberman felt it important to make sure all of the reporting was being done. He wants to make sure that new officers are being trained in customer service techniques. He wonders if we need more budget and police. Mr. Wagner believes there is a problem, regardless of how many awards the police department has received. The citizens have come to the Council for help many times now. When should we take 4